Spearheads From Space
by Larxenethefirefly
Summary: Rose wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there, and finds herself in the middle of a UNIT investigation. Meanwhile, and man she's never met before is claiming to be the Doctor. Part of my Music 'Verse.
1. Chapter 1

Beta'd by Silver :)

This is basically a re-write of Spearheads From Space with Rose, and fits into my Music of Eternity 'Verse, taking place before 'The Greatest Thing'.

* * *

It was a bit of a blur after she saw him regenerate.

The golden fire had barely any time to die down before she was by his side, the Time Lords looking outraged at her presence and the guards chasing after her. They grabbed her arms, but she fought, oh she fought, to stay by him; she didn't know what had happened to Jamie and Zoe and feared the worst, but they were not going to take the Doctor from her. Not again.

"Wait!" the President commanded, staring at her with narrowed eyes. "How did you get in here?"

Rose met his gaze stubbornly. "Not like I'm gonna tell you."

"Your life is in my hands, girl, I'd be wise with your words," he replied, and Rose was only the tiniest bit smug to see the bit of emotion on his face.

Still, she wouldn't back down. "You aren't taking him from me. You can't."

A thin smile crossed his face. "And who are you to stop me? We've already erased the minds of your other… cohorts. You won't even know what you've lost."

Her stomach plummeted. Oh, no. All the good they had done, all they had seen… and they would never remember. It took every ounce of willpower and courage to not break down. "You can't, and I'll tell you why. I'm legally dead on my home planet. There was an explosion before we managed to shut down the doomsday device, and if it weren't for the protection of the TARDIS I'd have been dead. I was at the epicenter. The royal family are the only ones who know of my existence, but I looked up their history one night a few months later. They never again spoke of that event in their lives. And if you are going to erase my memories and return me to that planet, you're going to have to get involved. Change history so that the explosion never happened; you're going to have to interfere. And since you just charged the Doctor for that crime and carried out his sentence, well, you'd better be in that chair next if you think you're going to do the same."

The room was deathly still. The Time Lords in the room were either staring at the President or staring at her. The President himself was glaring at her, a small twitch developing in his left eye. She swallowed. You've gone too far this time, Rose, she thought in despair.

A voice cut out across the silence. "She's Fixed."

As if one unit, everyone turned to face a figure in the back of the room. She was wearing a green robe with her eyes covered, which Rose assumed to be symbolic. "If you separate her from the Doctor, Time will be beyond repair."

The President scoffed. "She's a lowly human. What could she do that be so important?"

"Time does not see species or race or gender," the woman replied. "Time only sees it's own creations. And Time has decreed that she stay by the Doctor's side."

There was a long silence. Finally, the President nodded, but the motion was forced. "If the Seer says so, it must be done," he acquiesced. "Release her."

The guards did so and Rose immediately returned to the Doctor. "Do not think you are escaping so easily, child," the President said, harshly. "You may remain by the Doctor's side, but your memories of your time here on Gallifrey will be removed. And you shall never return, or you will face a punishment worse than death."

As the Seer did not protest, the guards dragged her and the Doctor to his TARDIS, looking the worse for wear. One of them bent over the Doctor and touched his hands to his temple; almost immediately the Doctor stood up and looked around. "Doctor!" Rose cried out, but the guard jerked her and she fell silent.

"He is not awake, merely sleepwalking," the one who woke the Doctor said. Another guard walked into the TARDIS for a moment before leaving. "He will have no recollection of how to fly the TARDIS when he wakes, and as soon as it lands he will revert to his former state."

"Why are you telling me this? I'll forget soon enough," she growled.

The guard blinked at her. "Because we are not uncivilized. So long as you remain a prisoner, we don't want to cause you any distress."

"Yeah, well, bad luck with that, you-" Everything went abruptly black.

She awoke on the TARDIS floor.

Her head felt fuzzy, as if she had hit the alcohol cabinet recently, but at least there was no hangover. Still, the Doctor normally made sure she passed out in bed, or carried her there when she crashed elsewhere. Groggily, she struggled to her feet and staggered toward the light source, where she found a Doctor-shaped person lying face-first on the ground. The door swung shut behind her and she managed to stagger two steps towards him before passing out again.

Not two minutes later, a UNIT patrol walked up to the scene, intent on finding the meteorites that had struck down not ten minutes ago.

"My god," the captain in charge of the party said when he saw the police box. He immediately dropped to his knees beside the young girl, checking her pulse, and the man's. "They're still alive!"

"Sir," one of the privates said, "Is that-"

"Not now, Garret," the captain replied. "Get an ambulance out here." He quickly checked them for any serious injuries, and finding none, motioned at one of his men. "I'm going to the hospital with them and will inform the Brigadier. Thomas, you are in charge of leading the search for the meteorites. If you find anything, contact HQ."

Garret returned. "Ambulance will be here in fifteen minutes, sir."

"Good." He turned back to the man. "If that's you, Doctor, I hope you wake soon."

Across town, Liz Shaw stormed into Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's office. "Was all that really necessary?" she demanded. "Identity passes, guards… I was even searched!"

The Brigadier closed the door behind her. "Security," he informed her, smiling slightly. "Rather amusing, don't you think?"

Liz regarded him, unimpressed. "No, you don't," he muttered, leaning back in his chair. If she hadn't been so annoyed she would have been proud.

"I have important research going on at Cambridge," she informed him, stiffly. And several graduates to keep an eye on, she added, silently. Grant and Lynda had been caught in the supply closet last week and without her there they'd probably try it on her desk.

"Yes, I know," he replied, opening her file. "An expert in meteorites, degrees in medicine, physics, and a number of other subjects. Just the all-rounder I've been looking for."

Liz frowned. She already knew about her credentials, having been there when it happened, and his cryptic ending still gave her no idea as to why she had been dragged out of her lab by men in uniform. "How I feel doesn't matter?" she added, sarcastically.

The Brigadier refused to be affected. "We need your help, Miss Shaw."

"Well, I'm just not that interested in security work." Two could play at this game. They were clearly some sort of secret organization, given that she had never even heard of UNIT before, but they wanted with a meteorologist she'd never know.

"Security?" the man across from her asked, the slightest bit of surprise in his tone.

She shrugged. "Producing invisible ink. That sort of thing."

He seemed amused by her response. "We're not exactly spies here at UNIT."

"Then what do you do, exactly?" she asked, matching his polite tone.

"We deal with the odd, the unexplained, anything on Earth, or even beyond," he replied, leaning back in his chair. His eyes were perfectly serious.

Liz laughed. How could she not? His words were nonsense. "Alien invaders? Little blue men with three heads?" Oh, her mates were going to get a kick out of this. They always complained she could never talk about anything interesting- this would show them.

"Ten tons of alien material drift through space and land on this planet every day," he continued as if she hadn't interrupted.

Oh god, she thought, he's being serious. "And do no harm to anyone," she reminded him. The sooner she was done with the charade the better.

He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Early this morning a shower of about fifty meteorites landed in Essex."

"Landed?" she asked in disbelief. Despite herself, she was intrigued. "Most meteorites don't even reach the Earth's surface! They usually burn up in the atmosphere."

"These didn't. These particular meteorites came down through a funnel of thin, super-heated air about twenty miles in diameter, for which no one has an explanation." He seemed to be goading her now, as if daring her to believe him. She was almost angry at herself for doing so.

Still, logic insisted that he had to be false. This was her life's work, what she had studied for years to obtain and, while it was possible, it was extremely rare. "There must be an explanation, a natural one," she said, running through calculations in her head.

"I hope so," he admitted. "We didn't find one last time."

She blinked. "Last time?"

"Six months ago, a smaller shower of meteorites, about five or six, landed in the same area."

"That's impossible!" she protested. "The odds against two lots of meteorites landing in exactly the same place must be incredible!"

"They are, Miss Shaw," he said, forebodingly, "They are."

And, against her better judgement, she stayed. She listened to him explain about alien life forms, about past invasions, and about a man named the Doctor.

She was almost relieved when a phone call interrupted them, the man on the other side of the phone confirming that the Doctor, whoever he was, had been found in the middle of a field with someone named Rose. Liz watched as the Brigadier's face finally showed his first real emotion- hope. She wondered just what she had allowed herself to get in to.

"You said you don't believe in aliens, Miss Shaw," the Brigadier asked once he hung up the phone. "Would you like to meet one?"

Despite thinking he was crazy, she said yes.

When Rose awoke, she was in a bed, a nurse writing something down on a clipboard. "Oh! Hello, dear." The nurse smiled when she saw Rose was awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Where-" Her voice croaked, and she swallowed and tried again. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Oh, he just came by, dear. Said you were doing fine. Do I need to call him back?"

Rose was about to say no, that she needed her Doctor, not the hospital's doctor, when someone grunted in the bed next to her. They were mumbling feverishly and the nurse scurried over calm them down. "What are you doing?" the nurse demanded, rolling him back on the bed.

"I must find my shoes," he grunted, trying to fight her. Rose tried to make out his face, but the nurse was concealing him.

As they argued, Rose sat up in bed gingerly, and when no dizziness overtook her she looked around. Wherever this place was, it was definitely a hospital, but she had no idea how she had gotten there. Had she somehow been teleported out? The TARDIS's shields weren't at par, but so far as she knew nothing could actually get in the timeship, and certainly not remove her from it. And judging from the technology, the planet she was on was still in the early stages of civilization.

A man came into the room- the doctor, Rose supposed, judging from his coat- and rushed over to help the nurse. The man, though seemed to have passed out, and after fussing over him for a bit they relaxed and began talking to each other quietly.

Rose looked at her neighbor. He seemed to be around the same age as the Doctor, but with curly white hair and a longer face. He also snored a little, which Rose would have found amusing if she were in different circumstances.

"Do you know each other?" the nurse asked, smiling at Rose. Whatever she and the doctor had been discussing seemed to have been resolved.

"Er… no." Rose replied.

"Really? You were found together. Thought he was your grandfather or something." The nurse looked concerned. "Oh, he didn't kidnap you, did he?"

Rose shook her head. "No, I've never seen him before in my life. I… I don't know how I got here."

The nurse smiled sympathetically. "You're probably still in shock. Just rest; it'll come back to you."

Despite her initial reservations, Liz admitted that UNIT had style. The car she and the Brigadier were escorted in was posh, even though the pennants were a bit overkill. The Brigadier, though, answered more of her questions, and by the time they arrived at the hospital Liz was somewhat more assured that no, this was definitely not a dream.

Still didn't stop her from pinching herself, though. Just to be on the safe side.

They walked into a horde of journalists and reporters, all demanding entrance to see the 'fellow with the animal blood'. She assumed this meant the Doctor, and wondered how on Earth they had found out. From the growing anger on the Brigadier's face, he was wondering the same thing.

A reporter shoved his camera in the Brigadier's face and Liz fought to hide her amusement as he gave noncommittal response. At 'training exercise' she nearly lost it; her giggles were hid in the cacophony his reply produced, and shoved through the crowd until they reached the door leading to the hospital proper.

The reporters, realizing they wouldn't get an answer about an alien, switched tactics and asked about the meteorites. By that point, however, the Brigadier was clearly out of patience, and he pushed Liz through the door, muttering under his breath about 'blood sucking leeches'.

"They were asking good questions, though," Liz supplied, wondering if she could make the Brigadier's face turn purple instead of red.

He glared at her and didn't respond.

Rose looked up as raised voices echoed down the hall and put down the newspaper she had requested from the nurse. She hadn't been terribly surprised to see that she was on Earth- the TARDIS, and the Doctor, were fond of the planet after all- but the date worried her. She still didn't know where the Doctor was and if he was injured, the medical supplies during this century wouldn't do much to help- assuming, of course, he had been teleported like her. For all she knew he could still be with Jamie and Zoe in the war zone.

When the Brigadier marched in, Rose could have wept from seeing a familiar face."Brigadier!" she exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're here."

He looked concerned. "Rose, what are you doing here? And where's the Doctor?"

"I don't know," she said, trying desperately not to cry. "One moment, Jamie, Zoe, the Doctor, and I were in the war zone, trying to escape.. and the next second, I wake up here."

He sat down at the edge of her bed, lying a hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "You were found in the middle of a field near a police box, Rose. Nearly gave one of my captain's a heart attack. Do you remember any of it?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head. "I don't… there's nothing there."

A woman Rose hadn't noticed walked over. "Leave her alone," she said, gently but firmly. "She's frightened, and you questioning her is only making it worse."

The Brigadier looked at her. "Miss Shaw, Rose is one of the bravest women I know. It'll take more than this to knock her off her feet." He turned back to Rose. "I'm sorry this happened, and we'll do everything we can to help." He got to his feet. "Doctor Henderson, where is the other patient?"

"Right there," the doctor replied, gesturing at Rose's neighbor. "He's been mostly unconscious, which is good, because I've never had a patient like him before."

The Brigadier, from where he was examining the man, asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Doctor Henderson said, "his cardiovascular system is nothing like I've never seen. And I'm told his blood can't be identified."

The Brigadier was silent for a moment. "It certainly sounds like the Doctor," he said at last, "but I've never seen this man before in my life."

Rose struggled up. "What? Let me see him!"

The woman- Miss Shaw, Rose remembered- helped her from the hospital bed and to the Brigadier's side. The man was sleeping peacefully and, if Rose didn't know better, she would have said he was the Doctor- strange as it sounded, he slept the same as her Doctor did, as if his years had solidified on his features, making him truly ageless.

This man, however, looked nothing like the Doctor. His hair was thick and curly and silver, his face square and defined, his mouth larger, his eyes set wider and not as deep-set. His apparent age was at least correct, but there wasn't even the most basic resemblance in facial features. The hope that had temporarily risen died.

"That's not him," Rose said, quietly. "He's not my Doctor."

As if hearing her voice, the man stirred, and suddenly blinked his eyes open. They were brown, like toffee, not the blue she wanted to see. "Rose?" he asked, groggily. "Where am I?"

She shrunk back. "How do you know me?"

He ignored her, focusing on the man next to her. "Lethbridge-Stewart? My dear fellow, how nice to see you again."

"He seems to know you both," another UNIT officer replied, amusement lacing his tone.

Astonished, the Brigadier shook his head. "But he can't do. Look here. Can you hear me? Who are you?" he demanded.

The man in the bed looked confused. "Don't you recognize me? Rose, you know who I am. I told you, remember?"

Rose looked worriedly at him. "I… I'm afraid I don't remember much. It's… possible that we meant, but…"

His face scrunched up and then realization showed. "Oh. Of course. You were there, but they must have… I need a mirror!"

At his distress, Liz pulled out a compact from her purse and handed it over. The man eyed himself critically. "Oh, no wonder you don't recognize me! The hair, the face… even my eyes!" He turned to look at Rose with a startlingly intense look. "They made you forget, dear Rose, but don't worry, I'll remember for the both of us." His eyes grew cloudy once more. "Oh, but I am tired again. I think I'll go back to sleep, now."

"Wait just a minute!" the Brigadier protested, but Doctor Henderson pulled him away.

"Let him sleep," he said. "He's obviously quite disturbed."

Though the Brigadier looked like he wanted to the exact opposite, he listened to the doctor and turned to Rose. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm… better," she admitted. "The headache is gone, at least."

He nodded. "Doctor Henderson, can she be released? I'm afraid I have a need for her, and there's no need for her to take up more time when you have that man to look after."

"It's against regulation," the doctor said carefully, "but if the young lady is assured of her health, I can't say no. All her tests came back clean. Except for a profusion of white blood cells, she's in perfect health."

The Brigadier nodded. "Excellent. I would like to take that man to London HQ, but with Miss Tyler here I think I can manage. Still, when will he be ready to travel?"

"Difficult to say," the doctor confessed.

"Well, let me know when. I'll leave my number with your secretary. Monro," he said, abruptly, "continue the search for the meteorites."

"Yes sir," the captain replied.

"As for you, Miss Tyler," the Brigadier continued, "let's get you out of those horrid clothes and back into action."

Rose and Liz talked quietly on the way back to headquarters, Rose mostly asking Liz about her work and background. It was apparent that she was unsettled and worried, her hand periodically clenching as if she was expecting to be holding something. The Brigadier, seemingly lost in his own thoughts, stayed silent.

"I want you and Miss Shaw to work together, Rose," The Brigadier said once they arrived. "Since we don't have the Doctor you're our next best asset."

Rose nodded. "I'll try my best, sir." She fiddled anxiously with her TARDIS key, once again around her neck. She hadn't realized how anxious she had been until she had reclaimed it.

"Have you seen Jamie and Zoe?" Rose asked, anxiously, suddenly remembering that they, too, were absent. "Brunettes, one wears a kilt, the other a jumpsuit?"

He shook his head. "Afraid not. The only two we found beside a police box was you and the other fellow in the hospital."

Rose tried desperately not assume the worst. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "Alright, Liz, what do you need me to do?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two! Rose and the Doctor reunite, and things become more complicated.

* * *

Rose had helped Liz set up her equipment, a confusing array of tubes, piping, and bottles that she didn't understand, but what Liz assured her would help figure out what the meteorites were made out of. The fragment had been delivered not too long ago and, as Rose examined the piece in her hand- it looked a bit like a plastic football, to her- Liz began pouring something in a beaker. "It's rather inconspicuous, isn't it?" Rose asked. "I'm just worried what was in it."

"What do you mean?" Liz asked.

"Well," Rose said, showing her the piece, "if it was solid we'd have a bit more, yeah? But this looks like… a shell, or an egg. And if this was the only thing found…"

"Then what happened to what was inside it?" Liz finished.

Before they could contemplate that thought further, the Brigadier walked into the room. Upon seeing their tense postures, he paused. "Am I interrupting?" he asked.

"No," Rose said, at the same time as Liz's terse "Yes."

He blinked. "You two are getting along alright?"

"We are," Rose assured him. "It's just.. frustrating. From the tests Liz has run it's definitely not a meteorite."

At the Brigadier's look, Liz elaborated reluctantly. "From what I can tell, it was manufactured. But, if your theory is followed, it could have come from space. There are traces of heat fusion."

"You still don't believe me," he said, and she felt a flash of irritation at his amused tone.

"I deal with facts, Brigadier, not science fiction ideas." She retorted.

"Liz," Rose said, interrupting before things could get heated, "I know it's hard to believe, but I've been out there. I've seen the stars, other planets, even other galaxies. In fact, I'm from the thirty-second century, and was born and raised on a colony planet called Plicea."

She scoffed. "Thirty-second century? Now I know you're mad. There's no such thing as time travel."

"I'm not asking you to believe me," Rose pleaded. "I'm just asking you to consider that there are things out there that cannot be explained by modern science."

Liz stared at them, amazed. The more she was around these people the more convinced she was that she had somehow tripped and fallen in her lab, creating this dream. It was… insane. Time travel, other planets, alien invasions… this was like an episode of a television show, not real life!

"You're seriously expecting me to believe this?" she demanded. "In some… alien called the Doctor who may or may not be able to change his face? In time travel?" Liz shook her head. "If I knew I was getting caught up in crack-pot theories, I would never have agreed to help. I should leave, right now, and leave you to your… delusions!"

The Brigadier moved to cut her off. "I'm afraid not, Miss Shaw. Until we have this figured out, you are required to be here."

"Leave her alone, Brig," Rose said, resting a hand on Liz's arm. "It's hard for anyone to accept. But, Liz," she continued, "aren't you the least bit curious? Don't you wonder how this meteorite is possible, even though what you know insists it can't be? Don't think of this as insanity, just think of it as an experiment. You are more than able to leave after we're done-" she shot the Brigadier a glance when it looked like he was going to protest, "- but for now, please, just stay. I don't know anything about this stuff, and I need your help, with the Doctor missing."

There was a long, strained silence. Liz looked at the door, not five feet from her; it'd be easy to escape Rose's hold and dart around the Brigadier if she moved fast enough. But Rose was right. She was curious. The meteorite simply could not exist, and yet it did, and she wanted to know how.

"Alright," she finally said. "I'll help. So long as you swear that once we're through, I won't ever have to deal with you again."

Rose smiled in relief. "Oh, thank you. You won't regret it, I promise."

As Liz went back to work, the Brigadier turned to Rose. "You're assuming a lot, Rose," he muttered, irritated. "Now that she knows about UNIT, we can't simply let her go."

"She's here for a reason, Brig," Rose replied quietly. "Trust me. If there's one thing I learned from the Doctor, it's that coincidences don't happen. I may not be able to see Time like he does, but I know for certain that she's important."

They were interrupted by the arrival of the several men delivering the TARDIS, and Rose nearly cried from relief. If the TARDIS was here it meant the Doctor was, too. "Oh, you gorgeous thing," she said, reverently, fumbling with the key around her neck. Liz eyed her in suspicion as the Brigadier watched in interest. "I've missed you."

The key slid in and turned the lock, and she slipped inside the doors. The TARDIS hummed at her in welcome, the console still bright and welcoming. She ran her hand over the console in welcome, then ran to her room to change. Her clothes were dirty and uncomfortable, and she would have given anything for a shower.

She quickly stripped and stepped into the shower, sighing with relief. Then she sank to the floor and cried.

Out in the lab, Liz watched from the corner of her eye as the Brigadier discussed tactics with the military liaison. Though jargon was thrown about, it didn't take much to realize that they really had no idea what was going on and were simply trying to buy time and keep the public unaware and appeased. She suddenly wondered just how many times they had done this; how many events had been written off as natural disasters or routine training exercises. Her earlier doubt began to resurface. Maybe they were right…

She shook herself. It didn't matter. She'd figure out what this meteorite was, then leave, go back to her lab at Cambridge and her silly grad students and her research. And she was happy about it.

A private walked in as the liaison was leaving, giving him a status update over the man at the hospital. "You shot him?!" the Brigadier exclaimed and Liz suppressed a smile.

"We didn't know who he was, sir!" the private protested. "For all we knew he was a hostile!"

The Brigadier sighed. "You are dismissed, private."

"What happened?" Liz asked.

"The man at the hospital escaped," he replied. "Oh well. At least he won't get very far."

"You mean before your men shoot him again?" she snarked, and noticed one of the containers bubbling. Oh, that was interesting. She quickly wrote it down.

He shot her an annoyed glance. "I don't find that funny. But if he is the Doctor, he we have his TARDIS. And he's stuck here on Earth without it."

"Assuming Rose doesn't make off with it first," Liz replied. "What is she doing in there anyway? It's much too small for her to do much of anything."

"You might be surprised," he muttered, then straightened. "Anyway, the Doctor wouldn't leave without her, and she him." He slid the key into the lock, then walked inside as well.

Liz stared, astonished. How on earth could two people fit in there.

He exited soon enough, looking troubled. "Well, it's certainly the TARDIS. But Rose is no where to be found."

She laughed. "What, got lost in the dark inside that small thing?"

He flashed her an irritated glance, but before he could reply the phone rang. He went over to answer it. "Yes?"

"Sir, there's someone called the Doctor here to see you."

"The Doctor?" he said, confused and Liz watched him expectantly.

"Yes, Sir. He says you know him."

"Show him up at once." He hung up. "How the devil did he find this place?"

Liz continued with her experiment, certain that it was yet another nutter arriving on the scene. "Your mystery alien, then?" she commented.

"Yes," he replied and walked away. Liz wondered if it would kill him to smile.

She wasn't too terribly surprised when the man from the hospital spoke up. "Hello, my dear old fellow. Suppose you were wondering how I found you?"

Liz almost smirked when the Brigadier grudgingly replied in the affirmative. The Doctor babbled something about a homing device before walking over to the police box. "Oh, there she is!" he said, clearly delighted. "How kind of you to look after her for me. Do you happen to have the key, by the way?"

She waited for the current reaction to take place- or not take place, as had been the result more often than not- and sat back to watch them. The Brigadier still seemed slightly wary of the man, as if watching a container of explosives near a fire. Then again, she figured, if one of her friends up and changed their face and personality on her, she'd be suspicious, too.

"I do, but I'm not giving it to you," the Brigadier replied.

"Why ever not?" the Doctor demanded.

The Brigadier tilted his head, considering the man in front of him. "For one, Rose is onboard, so if you need anything she can retrieve it. And for another, I have questions to ask, and I'd rather not have you leave before I'm done."

The Doctor, or whoever he was, looked irritated. "My dear Brigadier, it's no earthly good asking me a lot of questions. I've lost my memory, you see."

Though Liz could not see the Brigadier's face, she imagined it looked quite stern- a bit like the professor she once studied under, who was quick to criticize even the smallest of errors. "Rather convenient, don't you think?" the Brigadier replied. "Rose lost her memory, too, and here you are claiming the same thing. How do I know you aren't an imposter? After all, Rose didn't know you."

If she hadn't been paying attention, Liz would have missed the brief flash of misery crossing the man's face. "You don't know," he finally replied. "Only I can know that." He moved, suddenly, inspecting Liz's equipment, and she bristled. If he touched one item he was going to get a tongue-lashing. "What do you think of my new face, by the way? I wasn't too sure of it to begin with, myself. I suppose Rose doesn't like it, otherwise she would have stayed; she has eyes for the pretty boys, Rose." He paused, looking a bit concerned, before shaking his head. "Ah, well. She'll emerge soon enough and I can ask. This face sort of grows on you, though. Very flexible. Could be used on the planet Delphon, where they communicate with their eyebrows. Well, that's strange," he said, turning around to face the Brigadier accusingly, "how on earth did I remember that?"

"Doctor?"

All three whirled to face the police box, where Rose had emerged, hair wet and in a change of clothes. Liz wondered about the implications of that. "Is that really you?"

The Doctor's face had grown soft as he smiled at her. "Hello, Rose. Sorry to have scared you; that wasn't my intention, I assure you."

She walked over to him, hesitantly. He held out his hand and she looked at it suspiciously before slowly taking it. A look of wonder spread across her face. "It still fits," she said, breathlessly, then flung her her her arms around him. "I missed you!" she exclaimed, her voice muffled by his shirt.

He hugged her back, body sagging slightly into hers. "I did too, Rose." He stepped back, hand on her shoulders. His voice was serious. "What do you remember?"

Rose shook her head, nibbling at her bottom lip. "The last thing I remember is trying to escape the war zone. Jamie and Zoe were there, and so were you. You said something about Gallifrey, and then…nothing."

He sighed. "I was worried this might happen." He paced for a bit before looking at her once more. "I don't remember much either, but this seems to be a by-product of my change, not due to a tampering of the memories. Once I recover, my memories should come back."

"Someone tampered with my mind?" Rose asked, distressed.

He hugged her again, brushing the faintest of kisses on her head. "It's fine, Rose. I'll find a way to get them back. Who knows? Maybe your memory loss is a by-product, too."

Though Rose didn't look convinced, she relaxed her hold on him. Liz noted, however, that their hands still hadn't caught the message and remained entwined.

"Ah, hello," the Doctor said, finally catching sight of her. "Don't believe we've met."

"Liz Shaw," she replied, holding out her hand. He shook it enthusiastically. "Meteorologist from Cambridge. I'm helping UNIT out."

"Delighted to meet you," he replied, grinning.

"What are you a doctor of, by they way?" she asked, curious.

"Practically everything, my dear," he replied and Liz snorted. Not in the least bit humble, him.

Rose gave her an apologetic glance as the Doctor began to examine the equipment.

"From what we can gather," the Brigadier finally said, apparently deciding that now was as good as a time as any to continue their discussion, "was that you and Rose arrived early this morning in a shower of meteorites."

"Did we really?" Tthe Doctor asked. "How exciting."

Rose grinned and bumped his shoulder. "We always knew how to make an entrance."

"Well, objects from space, at any rate," the Brigadier confessed. "You realize I can't let you go until I'm certain there's no connection?"

The Doctor stood up as if to protest, but Rose beat him to it. "Of course," she said. "I was planning on helping you anyway, and if we are connected, it might give us a clue as to what happened. Right, Doctor?"

He frowned at her. "Rose, I can assure you, those meteorites have nothing to do with our memories. Whatever they are, they are certainly separate from us."

"Still," Rose said, "The TARDIS landed here for a reason. She hasn't led you wrong yet, yeah? We might as well stay and help."

He looked at her, then sighed. "Fine, fine, we'll stay. I'll help Liz here in the lab, and you can join the Brigadier in whatever… investigation he's doing," he said in disgust. He turned back to the lab table. "Oh, what are these?" he asked, picking up the shards of meteorite after dropping Rose's hand.

"Those are bits of what the Brigadier thought might be a meteorite," Liz explained. The Doctor frowned over them a bit.

"Plastic?" he asked, considering the material in front of him.

Liz joined him. "It's not thermo-plastic and neither is it thermo-setting. And there are no polymer chains."

"That's interesting," he muttered and, after sniffing it, put it down. "Wonder what was inside?"

"Yes, Rose said the same thing," Liz replied. "But I couldn't find any residue on the shell."

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone now… or collected," he commented, and Liz couldn't help but think he and Rose were very good at delivering ominous pronouncements.

"So, I take it you're going to help us?" the Brigadier asked.

"If I do, will you give me back the key?" The Doctor shot back.

"Possibly," the Brigadier retorted and Rose smothered a laugh. He was just pulling the Doctor's strings, now, trying to get a rise out of him.

"Then leave me alone so Miss Shaw and I can go to work." He turned back to Liz. "I don't have to keep calling you Miss Shaw, do I?"

Liz smiled. "No, no, Liz is fine." She quite liked the man, even if he was odd. She would like anyone who managed to get the Brigadier so riled up.

"Liz is much better," he replied, satisfied. "How much of these came down?"

The Brigadier considered. "About fifty, as much as we can tell."

The Doctor's frown deepened. "And you only found fragments?"

"One, yes," the Brigadier replied. "But there was an accident. It disappeared."

The Doctor straightened, looking serious. "Then the answer to your question is obvious, isn't it? By the time your search party arrived, the rest of these things had been collected. Collected and taken somewhere."

"Where, though?" Rose asked.

All four fell silent, the implications of that sentence troubling.


End file.
